Circular 32/2025
- Nashik Catholic Diocese
- Oct 1
- 5 min read
October 01, 2025
My dear collaborators,
Greetings to each of you in this month of October.
It gives me immense joy and happiness to write to you as we celebrate the Feast of the Patroness of our Diocese, St Therese of the Child Jesus today. If we look at the life of St Therese of the Child Jesus and reflect on her experiences, I believe we will surely be inspired to make Jesus the be-all and end-all of our lives. St Therese believed that her life was really just beginning for God; her letters, autobiography, and other recollections of her life will help us to understand her “Little Way” and use it in our daily lives. Therese saw herself as a child of God. She liked to keep things simple and focussed as a child does. Trust, especially trust in God enabled St Therese to do the little things at home and in her neighbourhood in an extraordinary manner. Nothing prevented Therese from doing good. However, on June 09, 1895, Therese was unwell; she experienced the first symptoms of Tuberculosis which subsequently led her to die a peaceful death. St Therese was proclaimed Doctor of the Church by St John Paul II in 1997 – 100 years after her death at the age of 24. St Therese is only the third woman to be so proclaimed, after St Catherine of Siena and St Teresa of Avila. May our prayer to St Therese of the Child Jesus be: “inspire me to do the little things on this earth with love today and always”.
The month of October is also called the Rosary Month: I am sure you will enthuse your parishioners to pray the Rosary at home and in the Small Christian Communities. I am given to understand that some of the parishes in our Diocese have a beautiful tradition of taking the Statue of Our Lady from home to home. Please encourage this devotion; and remind your parishioners to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
We will officially close the Season of Creation on Saturday, October 04. May I suggest that you do something (plant a tree sapling, etc.) that would enable your parishioners to remember that the parish this year did something concretely during the Season of Creation.
I wish to inform you that the Feast Day of St Carlo Acutis is on Sunday, October 12. St Carlo Acutis is known as the “Cyber Apostle of the Eucharist” for his use of technology to spread the Gospel and his immense devotion to the Eucharist. This would be a beautiful opportunity if you could get the youth of the parish and motivate them to love the Eucharist, spend time with the Eucharistic Lord in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, and reach out selflessly to the poor and the needy, etc.
Mission Sunday will be celebrated in the Church on Sunday, October 19. As is the practice, envelopes will be given to you on Thursday, October 09 when you come for the recollection. May I request you to distribute the envelopes to your parishioners and motivate them to contribute generously to the cause of the Missions. The theme for Mission Sunday written by our revered Pope Francis is Missionaries of Hope Among all Peoples is enclosed herewith.
I am happy to inform you that I have already started the second round of pastoral visitation. Details of my visit will be communicated to you shortly. Visiting the parishes and listening to your pastoral concerns and experiences give me the added joy to accompany you and pray for you. It is only when I visit you that I begin to experience the struggles that some of you go through in your pastoral ministry and to inform you that you have my support and good wishes as you attend to the pastoral needs of your parishioners. Personally speaking, pastoral visitation is one of my topmost priorities and I will do it as long as I can.
Permit me to remind you that I have been repeatedly informing you to visit your parishioners in a systematic manner. I am sure you are doing it. Please note that there is absolutely no substitute to pastoral visitation. It is only when we visit our parishioners will we become living witnesses of Jesus: listening to the needs of our parishioners, praying for their intentions, assuring them that they will never be forgotten and blessing them. I am pretty sure that your people will never forget this act of kindness shown to them.
As I conclude, I wish to thank you for your selfless services to the parishes and/or institutions in our Diocese. You play a significant role in animating your parishioners to become committed and dedicated disciples of the Lord Jesus. You have the assurance of my sincere prayers for you in your ministry. May the Lord Jesus continue to inspire us to walk in HIS footsteps knowing that we are called not to be served, but to a life of selfless service to the people entrusted to our care.
God bless you and with every good wish,
Yours in Christ,
✠Barthol Barretto
Bishop, Diocese of Nashik
OCTOBER RECOLLECTION for Diocesan and Religious Priests
Date: Thursday, October 09, 2025 Timing: 10.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. followed by lunch at Bishop’s House Venue: St Anne Cathedral AFTER LUNCH: Meeting with the Heads of the Commissions (for about half an hour). All Heads of the Commissions are expected to attend. |
RETREAT FOR THE DIOCESAN PRIESTS
Dates: Sunday, October 26, 2025 (Dinner) to Friday, October 31, 2025 Venue: Satyagiri Dominican Retreat Centre, Igatpuri
PLEASE BLOCK THE DATES AND ATTEND THE RETREAT. The Retreat is compulsory for all the Diocesan Priests.
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St Lazarus Devasahayam, Patron Saint of the Laity
We have received information from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India that the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments through a Decree No. Prot. N. 215/25 dated July 16, 2025 has declared St Lazarus Devasahayam as the Patron Saint of the Laity in India. This news will be solemnly announced on October 15, 2025, during the Eucharistic Celebration at St Mary’s Cathedral, Varanasi where the CCBI Commission for Laity will be holding its Annual National Meeting. |
OUR NEW DIOCESAN WEBSITE https://www.nashikcatholicdiocese.org
Please send a short report of the interesting news (Feast Mass, School Annual Days, inauguration of a significant event, yatras, Blood Camp, Youth Days, Seminars, etc.) along with two or three high resolution photographs to nashikdiocese@gmail.com and we will surely upload the same on the Diocesan website.
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